Congress Shunts 2 Leaders To Jammu & Kashmir Amid Buzz Of Rift With National Conference

As the deadline for filing nominations for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election approaches, Congress has dispatched troubleshooters to Srinagar to address the seat-sharing disputes with the National Conference.

Senior Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Salman Khurshid are set to meet National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and his son and party vice-president Omar Abdullah today to resolve the differences.

The National Conference has reportedly offered Congress five seats in the Kashmir Valley and 28-30 in the Jammu region. However, Congress is seeking additional seats, including some in traditional National Conference strongholds.

The National Conference has proposed a friendly contest for some contested seats, but local Congress leaders have not accepted this option.

Previously, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had met with the Abdullahs, reaching an agreement to contest the elections together.

Despite this, negotiations over seat-sharing have encountered obstacles. The Congress has now sent Venugopal and Khurshid to finalise the deal and ensure that both parties can prepare for the crucial election.

Ninety seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly will be contested in three phases, with polling on September 18, September 25, and October 1, and counting scheduled for October 4.

The last Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held in 2014. Following the revocation of the region's special status in 2019 and its bifurcation into two Union Territories, the political landscape has shifted significantly.

Omar Abdullah indicated last week that the seat-sharing arrangement with Congress is mostly settled, with discussions ongoing for the remaining seats.

"Consensus has been reached to a large extent. I can tell you that we have reached a consensus on the maximum seats out of the 90," he told the media.

"On a few seats, we are adamant and on some others, the local leaders of the Congress are adamant. There will be meetings today as well and we will try to sort out the rest of the seats so as to announce our candidates," he added.

In response to the Congress-National Conference alliance, Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticized the Congress for prioritizing power over national unity and security.

He questioned whether Congress and Rahul Gandhi support National Conference's proposals for a separate flag for Jammu and Kashmir and the restoration of Article 370 and 35A.

Shah also criticised the Congress for allegedly promoting separatism and engaging in dialogue with Pakistan instead of addressing local issues.

Omar Abdullah countered Shah's remarks, noting that the Home Minister focused on only a single aspect of their manifesto. "I thank the Union Home Minister for mentioning our election manifesto.

He has forced everyone to read it. The sad part is that he focused on only one paragraph," Abdullah said.